Most dogs enjoy chewing on things, although preferences vary as to the hardness of the substances favored. Some dogs like to chew on very hard materials such as cow bones, wood and nylon, while others prefer softer chews such as polyurethane or rubber. Still others favor freeze dried snacks. Some dogs due to their age may not be able to chew on very hard substances. Young dogs may have insufficiently developed teeth, while old dogs may have diseased gums or may have lost some of their teeth.
Furthermore, chew toys may be used as a vehicle to provide interaction between dogs and people. For example, some people like to play fetch with dogs using sticks, balls, flying disks, etc. Other people like to play “tug-of-war” with their animals, using ropes, sticks, etc. The interaction between pets and their owners has reportedly been found to be not only beneficial to the pet, as it provides the pet with necessary exercise and companionship, but beneficial to their owners as well, with many reported health related benefits.
Accordingly, the prior art is replete with disclosures directed at forming a variety of chew toys. However, there is still a need to provide chew toys that fulfill other requirements. For example, it may also be useful to provide pet chews that are interesting not only to pets, but to the pet owners as well. Additionally, it may also be useful to provide pet chews that enhance the feel of the chew to the pet or owner. Accordingly, a pet toy of novel construction may be directed to sparking the interest of, not only the pet, but children, teenage or adult owners, which may increase the time period that owners engage with their animals.
More particularly, it may be preferred that chew toys have a reasonable durability and maintain the interest of the animal for more than one interaction. Further, it may be preferred that such chew toys comprise more than one material such that a variety of chewing experiences may be provided for the pet. Towards that end, if different materials having different physical properties, such as hardness or different attractant properties, can be combined into a single chew, the pet may prefer one of the materials over the other and remain interested for a longer time period while attempting to dislodge such. Accordingly, it may be desirable that means be provided to retain such preferred materials from easily being dislodged or removed from the body of the chew. In addition, the body of the chew may include a series of ridges or protrusions that may interact with the teeth of the pet to provide a massaging and/or cleaning action. Such protrusions may comprise exposed regions of a second material which protrude through tapered holes in the body of a first material and may be in the form of indicia, etc.